"The Chief Minister also made it clear that permits of the auto rickshaw drivers would be canceled if they charge more than the revised fare"Their vehicles would as well be seized". However, no one seems to care. We were really happy when the announcements came out that the autos in Chennai city will once again see the meter box that was buried few years ago.
It used to be a strange thing when autos in all the other cities like Bangalore and Mumbai had its meters on , and the auto fellows even gave back 50 paise.
A city is first judged by its transport facility and the autos fares.Our city is famous for extra-high auto charges and the rude behavior of the auto fellows.After the announcement was made, we all thought that it was a boon for the commutators.
When I told them, I would pay the fare according to the new tariff structure which translated into around 75 cent hike in minimum fare, in comparison to the fare that was present earlier, all I heard was his scolding.I even told them that I had the conversion fare list that came out in all the leading newspapers, but still no response. I was determined this time that I will not pay a single penny more and let that auto fellow go. We had to let go of some 3-4 autos until one auto fellow asked 60 bucks for a 1.8 km. I had to bargain with him again when my friends got irritated by all these talks and came to a settlement of Rs 40. Still I was not satisfied with the settlement, and thanks to the smartphone. I tracked down the kilometer, and it was just 1.2 km, and we should have paid only 25, but we paid 40. As soon as we got down, I asked the auto fellow if he could tell me the distance of the place from the station where we boarded, and he refused to tell. Now this tariff structure, even after the awareness given to all the citizens if not followed properly, will surely be a bane.!! And what can be done to such auto fellows? I have noted down the number of the auto, but I still feel complaining will not solve the problem. Each and everyone must insist in the usage of the meter or the freshtariff rates until the new meters are installed.
